Windhoek is located in
the middle of the country, about 1 720m above sea level, in a long valley with
mountains on either side. In the Auas Mountains just to the south, a peak known
as the Moltkeblick reaches a height of 2 479m, the second highest point in the
country. The rugged Khomas Hochland rises to the west with hill upon hill as
far as the Namib Desert.

As the capital of Namibia
and the only proclaimed city, Windhoek is the seat of the legislative, executive
and judicial arms of government. Although around 13% of all Namibians live in
the city, it is one of the smallest capitals in the world, with a total population
of only 234 000.

Nevertheless it offers
international visitors all the necessities and amenities of a modern city. It
is also the hub for all modes of travel within Namibia, with Hosea Kutako --
the only international airport -- some 40 km away.

Windhoek grew into a town
with a strongly European ethos after Imperial Germany installed a military garrison
in 1890 under command of Major Curt von Francois. More than a decade after independence,
his statue still stands outside the municipal offices, although it is open to
question whether he was the true founder of Windhoek.

The
town was given municipal status in 1909 and proclaimed a city in 1965. While
control of the country passed to South Africa in 1915, examples of historical
architecture from German times remain, particularly on the hill above the central
business district.

The oldest building in
the city, the Alte Feste or Old Fort built to garrison the first contingent
of colonial troops, now houses a historical museum.

The German Lutheran Christuskirche
(Christchurch), a gingerbread church built from sandstone in 1910 in a blend
of neo- Romanesque, art nouveau and Gothic styles, stands on a traffic island
in the middle of Robert Mugabe Avenue. Its stained-glass windows were a gift
from the German emperor.

In the Parliament Gardens
across the road from the Christuskirche, the National Assembly and National
Council are housed in the wrylynicknamed Tintenpalast (1913) or Ink Palace,
where legislators and bureaucrats have toiled ever since the country was a German
colony.

Such relics notwithstanding,
Windhoek nowadays comes across as a fairly cosmopolitan city with a slight,
but perceptible African flavour.

In early times Nama and
Herero pastoralists contended for ownership of perennial waters situated in
a valley where the present-day suburb of Klein Windhoek stands. The place was
called /Ai//Gams in the Nama language and Otjomuise in Herero for the steam
that rose from its hot springs.

In 1837 a British explorer,
Sir James Alexander, came to hear of the springs. He was so impressed that he
named them -- sight unseen -- Queen Adelaide's Bath in honour of his queen.
He put the name on a map he drew, the first of the country as a whole, or at
least the parts of it known to foreigners.

Queen Adelaide's Bath
did not stick. Neither did Elberfeld, the name Rhenish missionaries adopted
after their arrival in 1842, nor Concordiaville as Wesleyan missionaries later
called it, when they replaced the Rhenish in 1844.

It had earlier become
a place of permanent settlement when Chief Jonker Afrikaner and his clan of
Orlam marauders laid claim to the springs in 1840. A people of mixed ancestry,
Khoekhoe with European, they spoke Cape Dutch, an early form of Afrikaans. They
had horses and guns, unlike the hapless Namas and Hereros, whom they easily
supplanted.

It is believed that Jonker
Afrikaner named the place Winterhoek (Wintry Corner) after mountains in the
Cape of Good Hope where he was born. In correspondence he rendered it as Wind
Hoock. So the name became Windhuk when the Germans colonised the country.

The final change of name
was also phonetic, although it too resulted from political change. Windhoek
is the Afrikaans spelling of Windhuk. Officially adopted after South Africa
replaced Germany in South West Africa, the name only coincidentally translates
as "Windy Corner" and does not imply that Windhoek is a particularly windy place.

Transport Museum
Railway Station, off Bahnhoff Street.
History of railway system in Namibia.
Open weekdays only, 09:00-13:00 & 14:00-17:00; closed public holidays.

METEORITE
FOUNTAIN
Located in the Post Street Mall, the Meteorite Fountain contains 31 meteorites,
estimated to be 600 million years old. They are from the largest meteorite shower
known to have fallen on earth. It scattered over some 20 000km², with the
highest concentration centred on Brukkaros, a mountain in southern Namibia.
The meteorites are believed to be pieces of a body with a mass of 21t which
fragmented in outer space. The largest fragment weighed 650kg. They are known
as octahedrites, a common type of iron meteorite.

NATIONAL BOTANICAL
GARDEN
Entry from National Botanical Research Institute in Orban Street.
The 11ha garden contains the densest stand of mopane aloes (Aloe littoralis)
in Namibia and large succulents such as bottle trees, quiver trees and candelabra
euphorbias.
The aloes flower in April and May.
Open daily, Monday to Friday, 08:00-17:00.
Closed public holidays.

NATIONAL ART GALLERY
Corner of Robert Mugabe Avenue & John Meinert Street.
Permanent exhibition of Namibian art. Open 08:00-17:00, Tuesday to Friday; Saturday,
09:00-14:00.
Closed on Sunday & public holidays.

DAAN VILJOEN GAME PARKSituated
in the rolling hills of the Khomas Hochland, Daan Viljoen is 15km west of Windhoek
on route C28. A small park in highland savannah, only 40km² in extent,
it does not hold a lot of game, but the species are fairly diverse.

Facilities include a swimming
pool, a willow-lined dam for picnics and hiking trails.

GROSS-BARMEN HOT SPRINGS
A spa located 94km north-west of Windhoek along routes B1 and M87 via Okahandja.
Fed from a hot mineral spring, the bath in the thermal hall is fitted with adjustable
benches, massage spouts and safety rails. An outdoor pool is filled with cooled
spring water. Other facilities include a restaurant, picnic spots and tennis
courts.